Weird Dreams, Ripped Seams
by KawaiiBoushi
Summary: The Beefcake Emperor and the Killjoy Detective are forced to battle one another. But what exactly did Nao Doll say to get Kanji all riled up? P4A, Kanji's side of their fight from Naoto's storyline. References to Naoto's storyline, no major spoilers.


"Frickin' invisible walls…"

Fed up, Kanji let out a grunt, having smacked his head into about the fifth one since he'd defeated Yukiko. "Why would my awesome dream have these everywhere? Stupid brain…" Still muttering darkly to himself, Kanji was corralled to the Practice Building, nursing a bump on his forehead as he entered the gym.

"Holy…what happened in here?" The room was bathed in a strange blue light, and looked like it had been frozen in time at the exact moment that a bomb had gone off. Folding chairs were stacked and suspended in midair as if by a shockwave, going from the middle of the gym outward. If that wasn't strange enough by itself, yellow tape with "P-1 Grand Prix" written on it was draped haphazardly around the room; over chairs, from the windows, on the bleachers. As Kanji was taking it all in, a monitor suddenly descended from above and sputtered to life.

"Good job on making it this far, Kanji!" Teddie, in that weird costume of his, was grinning into the camera. "Are you ready to face your next opponent?"

"You know I am!" Kanji yelled, throwing mock punches at the air in front of him. "Bring it on!"

"I love that enthusiasm! Heeeeeeere we go!" Teddie cheered, and as the screen rose back upwards, smoke began to shoot out from the ceiling, filling the room. Kanji squinted through the haze, trying to make out who he had to defeat next. A slight frame emerged through the doors at the far end of the gym, one he recognized even from a distance.

"Naoto? Izzat you?" he called out, wondering what she would be doing at the Grand Prix. He knew she felt like she had a lot to prove, but a fighting tournament didn't seem her style. Then again, this was a dream…Naoto was in his dream? He was dreaming about Naoto? Was he going to have to fight her too, or…

"Kanji-kun!" A voice cut through his thoughts, and Kanji jumped, startled from his reverie. The air had cleared and Naoto stood a few feet from him, arms crossed. She had one eyebrow raised, giving him an expectant look that said she had probably been trying to get his attention for a while.

"Uh – yeah?" Kanji cleared his throat, wondering if Dream-Naoto could read his thoughts. He stuffed his fists in his pockets anxiously, and Naoto sighed.

"Hands where I can see them," she ordered. Kanji blinked. "Stand up straight. And for heaven's sake, stop scowling!" Naoto tapped her foot impatiently against the ground, glaring at him. Dumbfounded, Kanji hastily did as she said. At his full height, the difference between them was even more noticeable, and Naoto had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes.

"Was - was I scowling?" Kanji attempted to arrange his face into what he hoped was a more pleasant expression. He wasn't really sure why the Naoto of his dreams was scolding him like his old lady, but he didn't want to be on her bad side right now, so he went along with it. Naoto rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, shaking her head.

"Pathetic," she said, looking at him like he was a lost cause.

"Hey," Kanji protested, bristling. "I'm tryin' here. I dunno what I ever did to you, so why don't you just tell me what crawled up your -"

"I detest simpletons like you," Naoto cut him off, exasperation dripping from every word. "No manners. So quick to get angry and jump to conclusions. Solving all your problems with violence and foul language that only betrays your lack of intelligence." She fixed him with a condescending gaze and smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I going too fast for you?"

Kanji's jaw dropped. Naoto could be blunt, for sure, but he'd never seen her act so spitefully before. "Naoto, what's up? This ain't like you."

"'What's up?'" Naoto repeated disdainfully, her voice taking on the deep intonation her Shadow had adopted to taunt her last year. "You think I didn't notice your little crush? How stupid do you think I am? I can't bear to watch you trail after me anymore. It's so awkward it's painful. That's 'what's up.'"

"What…hey, that's…" Astonished, Kanji could barely get out a full sentence, much less defend himself. Dream or not, Naoto's barbs stung – especially since there was truth behind them.

"I'll cut to the chase. The fact is, you're just not good enough for me. What could I possibly see in a clumsy half-wit who's more of a girl than I am?" Somehow, Naoto knew exactly what doubts had plagued Kanji since he'd met her. He'd gone over all this in his head a million times, but hearing it from Naoto's own mouth was different. Way more painful. Was this how she really felt? Naoto had always been pleasant towards Kanji, if nothing else, but what if she really was hiding some deep dismay for him? He wasn't given a chance to fret over the matter, as the detective was ready to deliver the end of her tirade.

"And so," she said with an air of finality, lazily drawing something from a pocket in her coat, "I've decided to eliminate your bothersome presence from my life." Naoto pointed the small, silver object at Kanji with both hands, and he realized with a jolt it was a revolver. "Good bye, Kanji Tatsumi."

There was a click as she released the safety, and Kanji lunged to grab a chair floating near his head, trying to make himself as small as possible – not very – behind it. A sharp crack rang in his ears as the gun was fired, and a metallic ping that nearly deafened him told Kanji that the bullet had been deflected off the chair. Peering past his makeshift shield, Kanji saw Naoto sneer at him.

"You tryin' to kill me?" Kanji cried. _Gotta be freakin' kidding me!_ _Fine, if none of this is even real anyway, then it's time to let out some pent-up frustration._ "That's it, I'm taking you down, ya little punk!"

Roaring, Kanji reeled back and hurled the chair in Naoto's direction with as much force as he could muster. Her eyes widened, and before she could so much as flinch, it hit her directly in the stomach, sending her flying back into the wall. Kanji hoped that would be the end of it, but Naoto rose to her feet and staggered in his direction, raising both arms in a motion that gave away her next move.

"Come, Sukuna Hikona!" she yelled, and her small, insect-like Persona appeared at her side. Kanji rushed at Naoto, and, leaping into the air, grabbed a chair from above his head and swatted Sukuna Hikona with it. The Persona made an annoyed buzzing noise, crackling in and out of focus, and Naoto jerked back as if struck. Kanji lifted his weapon for a second attack, but his opponent's lithe figure had already slipped gracefully behind him, out of reach. Kanji nearly tripped over himself turning around, then again in his haste to back away when he found himself staring down the barrel of Naoto's revolver.

She cocked the gun yet again, and this time, two shots caught Kanji in the shoulder. He recoiled from the blow, falling over backwards with a grunt. Blinded by pain, he could only lie there, clutching at the wound, vaguely aware that he didn't seem to be bleeding. For that matter, his shirt wasn't even torn, though that didn't change the fact that he hurt like hell.

_Just like how Yukiko-senpai's fire didn't burn me to a crisp,_ Kanji recalled. But he didn't have time now for wondering how that worked. Naoto was reloading her gun while she thought he was incapacitated, so Kanji seized his chance to catch her off guard. "Take-Mikazuchi! Ziodyne!"

His Persona materialized above him and a clap of thunder shook the gym. Naoto looked up just in time to watch a great bolt of lightning trace a jagged white line down toward her. Kanji averted his gaze as a shrill scream pierced the air and Naoto collapsed with a soft thud. Sukuna Hikona faded from sight and Kanji dismissed Take-Mikazuchi, scrambling to stand and rush to Naoto's side. She had curled up into a ball and didn't appear to be conscious at first, but her breathing was normal, so Kanji straightened up, ready to get out of there and hopefully find a more pleasant dream.

At that moment, the small girl stirred with a moan, slowly stretching out her limbs and rolling onto her other side. All the color drained from Kanji's face, his anger dissipating with it. He'd just knocked the living daylights out of Naoto. Even if this was all in his head, what did that say about him? A tournament to prove he was the strongest man at school, and he was going around beating up girls? What kind of man did that?

"Kanji-kun?" Naoto's soft, uncertain voice brought him back to reality. She was looking up at Kanji through eyes narrowed in pain, with no trace of malice now, which just made him feel worse. He quickly helped Naoto to her feet, and led her to a chair nearby that wasn't floating or upside-down.

"You alright?" he asked, looking her up and down for any sign of injury. Naoto nodded slowly, leaning back and meeting Kanji's gaze. Her hands shook ever so slightly as she brushed singed bangs away from her face, but there was no serious damage as far as he could tell.

"I'll live," she confirmed. "Just a little sore." She offered him a small, reassuring smile, and Kanji let out a sigh of relief, though it didn't alleviate his guilt.

"Look – about that – I-I'm real sorry, it's not –" Kanji tried to stammer out an apology, but nothing he could say didn't sound like a total cop-out. _I suck,_ _I suck so bad._

"That's quite…" Naoto made a face, appearing to be thinking about something. "Um, it's…all good." She shook her head and returned her focus to Kanji. "That is, I believe it isn't your fault. We're back in the TV world, and something seems to be manipulating us, causing us to see and hear things. Namely, friends turning on one another, in an attempt to make us fight whether we want to or not."

Kanji tried to process what she'd said. "So that wasn't really you, sayin' all those things about me?" He blurted out the first thing that popped into his head, and instantly wished he could take it back.

"It was not." Naoto paused, frowning. "Did I say something that offended you? If you wish to…discuss it…" She looked uncomfortable, but her eyes were earnest, like she really was sorry for what he'd heard her say. Kanji felt himself start to flush. _Crapcrapcrap why's she gotta be so cute?_ He laughed nervously.

"N-nah, it's nothin'." He quickly changed the subject. "Um, anyway, you said something's screwing with us? Makin' us imagine things?"

"Precisely. I just encountered Yu-senpai, and he was acting equally strange until after we fought, at which point he returned to his normal self. And you undoubtedly have seen this General Teddie character on the monitors, yes?"

'Equally strange' – Kanji wondered exactly what they'd been doing, but didn't want to press the matter any further. "Yeah, I saw him. He told me this Grand Prix is being held to find out who the strongest one at Yasogami High is."

Naoto looked thoughtful. "Hmm. The video that played earlier eluded to something of that effect, but when I spoke with the General, he…hmm. Most likely, he only told you what he thought would motivate you to fight." Kanji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at this. Was he that easy to figure out? "Anyway, I don't believe that is the real Teddie."

"Oh yeah?" Kanji quirked an eyebrow. "Who is he, then?"

Naoto hesitated. "I have a theory. It's a long story, but what's important is that we could all be in danger. You need to track down whoever is behind this and put a stop to it. At least three other Persona-users may be here as well, who appear to be involved at least on some level with whatever is going on, though I don't believe they are our enemies per se."

"Right." Kanji nodded. He didn't exactly get what was happening, and didn't appreciate Naoto being so mysterious about it, but if they needed brute force, he was the right guy for the job. "Well, if you're feelin' up to it, we should get goin'."

Frustration darkened Naoto's expression. "Unfortunately, I can't. The rules dictate that only the winner of each round may advance in the tournament."

"Screw that," Kanji scoffed. "Two heads're better than one, right?"

Naoto shook her head, elaborating, "I physically can't go with you. Watch." She stood up, took five careful steps toward the exit, then stopped, looking back at Kanji. He followed, closing the distance between them in two strides. Naoto lifted her hand and made to reach out in front of her, but her palm flattened inches from her face, fingers splaying out across some unseen wall. Surprised, Kanji stuck his arm out as well, and, finding nothing there, walked in a circle around Naoto.

"What the…?" he wondered out loud. "I ran into a few of those things on my way here, but why only you now?"

"It would appear that it isn't possible for me to move from this area," Naoto sighed. "You'll have to go on alone."

"Sucks," Kanji noted. Trying to make sense of the situation, he chuckled, earning him a questioning look from Naoto.

"Guess this isn't a dream after all," he said, bemused. "No way I could come up with something so complicated."

"Don't sell yourself short, Kanji-kun." Something of a smile crossed Naoto's face, and Kanji's stomach did a tiny backflip. He shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Oh, heh…if this isn't a dream, I guess I really did beat you up. Sorry 'bout that," he apologized again, feeling completely lame.

Naoto shrugged. "As I said, I'll be fine. I presume that you saw me attacking you and acted in self-defense, as did I." Naoto lowered her gaze to a point around Kanji's shoulder. "I know you wouldn't…hurt me if such drastic measures weren't necessary."

"Y-yeah," Kanji muttered, looking away as well. He was starting to wish he could go back and just let Naoto gun him down. The thought alone made him roll his shoulder and wince, but more bullets would have been a walk in the park compared to this.

Casting around for something to say to relieve the awkward silence, Kanji glanced down. For the first time, he noticed that there was a tear in the back of Naoto's hat. _Looks like the seam on the headband's starting to come apart._ Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed it so he could assess the damage.

"Hey!" Naoto's head whipped up. She reached out to snatch the cap back, scowling when her hand crashed against the invisible wall between them. "Give it back!" Naoto demanded, turning pink. Her voice reached a pitch higher than she usually allowed herself, and it was all Kanji could do to keep from bleeding out.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said, hastily dropping the hat back on her head. Naoto went to straighten it out, and Kanji explained, "S'just, it was ripped in the back. Musta happened when we were fighting. I needed to get a closer look."

Naoto froze, then slowly removed it to see for herself. After a few moments, she looked up at Kanji wearing what he swore was a pout, or at least the closest to one he'd ever seen on her. "Kanji-kun…"

_**Critical hit!**_

That was the last straw, he couldn't take it anymore. Before Naoto could see his face redden, Kanji turned away. "My bad. Just…remind me when we get outta here, and I'll fix it, all right?"

"Y-yes," Naoto agreed. Silence stretched out between the two for a long minute, then Kanji finally spoke up.

"Well, I oughta get a move on."

"Yes, you should." When she didn't add anything, Kanji started to leave, but as he was almost to the doors, Naoto called out to him.

"Kanji-kun?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "'Sup?"

Naoto looked torn, wringing her hands. "Be careful," she finally told him. "I – I expect you to fix my hat, you know." Kanji grinned, hoping he looked cool and that his nose wasn't bloody.

"Yeah." With that, he gave a wave in her direction and moved on, ready for the next fight.


End file.
